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What’s next for Modern Learning?

06 Dec 2015

The number one problem facing the department of Learning & Development (L&D) is to satisfy the needs of the company but also of the Modern Learner. The question that arises now is: do we really understand what this means?

Only 24% of managers believe that L&D is meant to fulfill the strategic need of the business; 14% of L&D specialists consider that they are seen as strategic partners, and 66% mention that it is difficult to accommodate their learning processes with L&D programs. These numbers push specialists to invest time in process improvement. Let’s take a closer look at these challenges:

1. Modern Learner
It is not surprising that the battle is on employee engagement if we look at the following overwhelming statistics:
Today’s employees are not confined to a single office, shop or factory, they work from different locations. 37% of the global workforce chose to work remotely, 30% working from a location other than the employer’s main office.

Over 70% access search engines to get the information needed for the job, using smartphones because they have a longer response time.

Studies show that 80% of the information needed for the job is obtained by calling on professional networks and personal – managers, teammates.

Rapid changes in business push employees to learn quickly, that’s why 75% of them say they are overwhelmed and stressed.

Add to these things and all the distractions, both good and bad, and here is the competition that takes place in the minds of the teams. The competition is for a small portion, studies show that in a working week only 1% of the employees’ focus is on training and development, which means approximately 5 minutes a day.

2. Professional resources and tools for L&D
The research carried out on the Modern Learner shows that there are four categories of learning, three periods and the influence of technology as a factor in our solutions.

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But, let’s take them one by one:

Learning Categories – some tools are specific to a specific category, and others are suitable for several categories. The image below shows some powerful inshigts:

How many of these resources do you use in your company? We should stop looking at each category separately, but look at the overall picture that symbolizes learning and development.

Time – at the same time as implementing different approaches to continuous learning, we must consider three expectations of the Modern Learner:

a. Immediate needs – performance support and other tools that cover his learning needs – What should I know now?
b. Intermediate needs – development at the current job and expansion of skills – What do I need to know next week? Next month?
b. Transitional needs – developing skills and relationships that will achieve their long-term goals – What do I need to develop my career?

Technology – 10 years ago we were talking about the novelty of e-learning and about combined learning. Now we look at technology differently, it is no longer about having a good learning system or about having online access to materials.

There are reporting and learning tools, social learning solutions, collaboration tools, professional social networks and adapted learning platforms. The content is everywhere and those who want to learn no longer rely on 2-hour or 2-day workshops. Most employees have access to the Internet at work; whether we like it or not, but your colleagues unlock their mobile phones even 9 times an hour. The challenge raised online is to capture the user’s attention in 5-10 seconds, therefore this insight must be used to our advantage.

3. Business Demands
If the two challenges above are not enough, the expectations vis-à-vis the specialized skills are that they develop at a fast pace. Retention rates put pressure on these needs.
Can we move fast enough to meet both the effectiveness and efficiency of the company?

How do progressive companies solve these challenges?

I redefine and expand the roles in L&D. Introducing products and roles in marketing, with the role of thinking like product managers, evolving rapidly and introducing innovative methods to communicate and involve participants. Having more business consultants and more categories of experts, so that they are closer to the organization, understanding certain specific needs and requirements that have a direct impact on KPIs and results.
L&D divisions are expected to move from individual to group thinking, from complacency to curiosity, from rigid to agile and from conventional to innovative.

They are in continuous conversations with the business environment, understanding what are the stressful points, KPI challenges, or critical situations. Starting with the impact of the business helps to stay in a strategic position and find solutions.

Finally, it measures the results both in terms of raising the level of knowledge, retention, as well as business impact, for example the reduction of security incidents, an increase in sales, the improvement of customer satisfaction. Thus, the L&D contribution becomes strategic, tangible and measurable.

The future is about “learning everywhere, all the time”. Looking at a term of 5 years, how prepared are you?
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We like to learn from our colleagues Biz Group. This article is taken and translated from their blog.